Rising heavyweight contender Francis Ngannou got his chance to fight a true veteran of the division tonight (Sat., Jan. 28, 2017) at UFC on FOX 23 live on FOX from inside Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado, when he took on former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) titleholder Andrei Arlovski. Coming into the bout, Ngannou had finished all four his previous UFC opponents by knockout or submission and continued that trend opposite “The Pit Bull.”
After a very brief feeling out period, the extremely patient Ngannou clipped Arlovski with a right hand and sent him to the canvas. The shot wasn’t even an overly powerful punch, which just goes to show how destructive “Predator” can be. Following a few insurance shots, Ngannou was peeled off the former champ and awarded the first-round TKO victory.
The full video highlights can be seen above courtesy of UFC.
With this win, Ngannou moves even closer to cracking the short list of deserving heavyweight title contenders. He has finished every one of his UFC appearances to date and is on track to face even steeper competition in 2017. If the Frenchman can punch his way past one or two more proven veterans, Stipe Miocic better polish his belt.
For complete UFC on FOX 23 results and coverage click here.